Ladybugs

I bought a gorgeous Hibiscus tree last summer. It's a magnificent thing.

It's the kind of potted lovely you put outside to soak up summer and then rescue when the days get colder. Maybe you wouldn't have to invite it in the house where you live. But here, well, it wouldn't be magnificent at all if I had left it to fend for itself. Not a chance.

Did I mention it was all of twelve dollars?

There may have been a reason for that.

From the day I promised to love it forever, and brought it home, it's been infested with aphids. Impressively so. But the strange thing is, it doesn't seem to mind.

At one point I stuck it inside our barn when a severe thunderstorm rolled over our farm. It was safe from the hail but not the wind. After my beautiful beautiful Hibiscus fell over, someone's dang chickens ate every bloom, every leaf, every bit of green they could find on it. And by default, they ate the aphids too.

Chickens are nothing but trouble. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise.

It appeared to be a horribly tragic ending.

The Hibiscus grew back prettier than ever.

So did the aphids.

I've washed the dumb thing with soapy water. At least three times. These aphids are impressive too.

But the good news!

We keep finding ladybugs in the house!



Oh wait. That one doesn't eat aphids. At least to the best of my knowledge.

The other ones, we relocate them to ladybug paradise.



Where do they come from? Honestly, as long as they're not boxelder bugs or gigantic furry spiders, I really don't care.

These are the happiest ladybugs on the face of the earth.



It's really something to watch them create aphid-free zones. Although it's an uphill battle for them, they don't complain.



Linking up with Macro Monday